No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis is a detailed examination of the logico-semantic system propounded by the English philosopher and theologian William of Ockham (c.1287 – c.1347). It provides a reinterpretation of Ockham's account of mental content and mental-language semantics, as well as of his theory of consequential goodness. It does so from the standpoint of an inferentialist theory of meaning, in rejection of previous attempts made from the standpoint of internalist and externalist theories of mental content. Chapter 1 ('The Scientic Status of Logic') provides an account of Ockham's understanding of logic as a rational, practical, ostensive science. Chapter 2 ('The Received Interpretation') presents and casts doubt upon the arguments put forward by the defenders of both externalist and internalist construals of Ockham's semantic theory. Chapter 3 ('An Inferentialist Construal') presents the central tenets of a inferentialist theory of meaning. In order to show how Ockham's system can be understood within such a semantic paradigm, we will have to set out at least three things. First, Chapter 4 ('Ockham's Propositionalism') argues that the mature Ockham actually embraced a propositionalist theory of meaning. Second, Chapter 5 ('Obligationes and the Normativity of Asserting') seeks to prove that such a theory of meaning can only be properly understood against the normative background provided by his theory of obligationes. Finally, Chapter 6 ('Consequences') argues that Ockham's theory of consequential goodness is materialist, not formalist. That is to say, that the goodness of a certain kind of consequence ultimately depends upon the meaning of its propositional parts, rather than upon its structure. It is then shown that all remaining kinds of consequences (syllogisms included) are to understood with respect to these material inferences. The main sources of this research are Ockham's Ordinatio, his Summa logicae, and his Quodlibeta septem. As regards the inferentialist theory of meaning, Robert Brandom's Making it Explicit (1994) and Wilfrid Sellars 'Inference and Meaning' (1953) were essential to this research.

This study aims to develop a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) Based systematic quantitative landslide risk assessment methodology for regional and local scales. Each component of risk, i.e., hazard assessment, vulnerability, and consequence analysis, is quantitatively assessed for both scales. The developed landslide risk assessment methodology is tested at Kumluca watershed, which covers an area of 330 km2, in Bartin province of the Western Black Sea Region, Turkey. GIS and RS techniques are used to create landslide factor maps, to obtain susceptibility maps, hazard maps, elements at risk and risk maps, and additionally to compare the obtained maps. In this study, the effect of mapping unit and mapping method upon susceptibility mapping method, and as a result the effect upon risk map, is evaluated. Susceptibility maps are obtained by using two different mapping units, namely slope unit-based and grid-based mapping units. When analyzing the effect of susceptibility mapping method, this study attempts to extend Logistic Regression (LR) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) by implementing Geographically-Weighted Logistic Regression (GWR) and spatial regression (SR) techniques for landslide susceptibility assessment. In addition to spatial probability of occurrence of damaging events, landslide hazard calculation requires the determination of the temporal probability. Precipitation triggers the majority of landslides in the study region. The critical rainfall thresholds were estimated by using daily and antecedent rainfalls and landslide occurrence dates based on three different approaches: Time Series, Gumble Distribution and Intensity Duration Curves. Different procedures are adopted to obtain the element at risk values and vulnerability values for local and regional scale analyses. For regional scale analysis, the elements at risk were obtained from existing digital cadastral databases and vulnerabilities are obtained by adopting some generalization approaches. On the other hand, on local scale the elements at risk are obtained by high resolution remote sensing images by the developed algorithms in an automatic way. It is found that risk maps are more similar for slope unit-based mapping unit than grid&ndash / based mapping unit.

As attention of scholars shift from perils of presidentialism to perils of semipresidentialism in the recent decades, French style of cohabitation power sharing mode in the executive merits our endeavor to understand the micro-dynamics that is embedded in it. It includes how it emerged, how it was practiced and what consequences it produced. Such effort, if wisely applied, can probably be helpful in slowing down the rate of political system breakdown in many of the newly emerged democratic systems that emulate the French model. After an introduction to the blackbox of French cohabitation, the remainder of the dissertation is divided into eight chapters. Chapter 2 briefly reviews the existing literature on French cohabitation. Chapter 3 introduces the interpretive paradigm of qualitative research that is employed to analyze data and to facilitate theory building. In the 4th theoretical discussion chapter, three elements of practice theory approach ¡V temporality, duality of structure and unanticipated consequences are elaborated respectively. The three elements correspond to answer three research questions comprising how cohabitation emerged, how it was practiced and what kinds of consequences it produced. Chapter 5 to 8 display findings to the questions. They unravel for us other faces of French cohabitation which can be an active outcome of rationalization, a dynamic generator and a collective inevitable self-deception. Chapter 9 concludes by delineating theoretical and practical contribution of the dissertation.

The paper analyzes the rise of get-tough crime legislation to the American public policy agenda and examines the effects of these policies on crime and inmate populations. Get-tough policies analyzed include sentencing reform, the War on Drugs and collateral consequences. Because there is no empirical literature on the effect of collateral consequences on crime, the paper employed an OLS regression model partly derived from institutional anomie theory to test for criminogenic effects. The study then employed OLS regression analysis to determine the affect of these independent variables on crime rates in each of the 50 states. The study concluded that state policies hindering the ability of offenders to find employment have a significant and positive impact on crime. According to the model, the most significant factors affecting crime rates are urban density, high school drop-out rates, a state's population of blacks, non-economic institutions, and policy barriers to offender employment. The research suggests that policy makers should reduce ecomomic barriers to reentry, particularly those barriers focused on employment, to improve public safety.

Le risque contentieux est une incertitude prévisible. Il peut se définir comme la probabilité de survenance d’une cause contentieuse multipliée par l’ampleur des conséquences attachées à cette survenance. Le risque contentieux pèse d’abord sur le décideur public et les administrés. Son traitement s’effectue en deux phases. La première phase correspond au stade où le risque contentieux est éventuel, c’est-à-dire un risque connu mais non manifesté. Il s’agit alors de prévenir les causes contentieuses en sécurisant la décision publique. Pour y parvenir, la personne publique peut compter sur ses propres moyens ainsi que sur la compétence technique que les tiers peuvent lui apporter. Le risque contentieux devient probable au moment de l’introduction du recours contentieux. Il est alors un risque manifesté mais non encore concrétisé. Le procès est la phase où il convient de gérer le risque contentieux dans le contentieux, notamment par des actions curatives ou palliatives. Ces dernières ont pour objet d’éviter que le risque contentieux se réalise (par l’annulation d’un acte, une condamnation…) ou de limiter les conséquences contentieuses. Et le juge est loin d’être étranger à l’anticipation du risque contentieux. Il y est de plus en plus sensibilisé. Il prévient également les risques contentieux. In fine, ce risque conduit à faire supporter une charge sur la partie perdante et, corrélativement, à rétablir la partie adverse dans ses droits. / Litigation risk is a foreseeable uncertainty. It can be defined as the probability that a cause of action will occur, associated with the extent of the consequences attached to this occurrence. First, litigation risk hangs over policymakers and citizens. It is carried out in two-steps. The first step corresponds to stage when the litigation risk is potential. The risk is known but has not yet actualized. The issue is then to prevent litigation cause by securing public decision-making. To reach this goal, decision makers can, count on their own resources, but also on the expertise of third parties. When a court case is filed, litigation risk becomes probable. That is to say, litigation risk exists but it is not yet materialized. Secondly, the trial is the step in which litigation risk must be handled through remedial or mitigating actions. These actions aim at avoiding the realization of the litigation risk –quashing of an act, condemnation- or containing the consequences of the litigation. Furthermore, judges play a major role in the anticipation of litigation risk: not only are they increasingly aware of it, but also becoming more involved. Ultimately, the risk leads to burdening the losing party, and correlatively, to restoring the rights of the opposing party.

This thesis has three main aims. First, I will propose and explain a genre ascription for the sayings in Prov 10:1-22:16 – the ‘didactic proverb’. Second, I will analyse ‘openness’ as a textual feature, and show its contribution to the functions of this genre. Third, I will demonstrate how reading this way may influence our understanding of some key issues in Proverbs’ scholarship. Part 1 tackles the first and second aims. In ch. 1, I suggest that the sayings in Prov 10:1-22:16 have something of a hybrid genre, displaying features akin to both ‘didactic’ texts and ‘proverbs’. This can be seen from their: generically related texts, probable social settings, media, self-presentation, and literary forms. As ‘didactic’ texts, the sayings shape the worldview, character and intellect of their students. As ‘proverbs’, they apply to specific situations with specific purposes. In ch. 2, I explain three manifestations of literary ‘openness’: polysemy can give a text multiple meanings; parallelism makes the relationship between lines unclear; imagery opens up worlds for exploration. Ch. 3 begins to show how this ‘openness’ enhances the sayings’ ‘didactic’ and ‘proverbial’ functions. Here I move beyond openness in interpretation to openness in application, and draw on the field of ‘paremiology’ (the technical study of the ‘proverb’ as a genre), which has been somewhat neglected in Proverbs’ scholarship. In Part 2, I turn to the text, drawing out the openness of key verses, and showing how they function ‘didactically’ and ‘as proverbs’. This proves to have implications for certain classic debates in Proverbs’ scholarship (my third aim). Ch. 4 considers ‘character’ terms (e.g. wise/foolish, righteous/wicked). I use cognitive linguistic theories to examine the terms as open categories with ‘prototype structure’. Viewed this way, the terms are not (as some have argued) abstract and cut off from the world, but profoundly useful for life. Ch. 5 considers the apparent ‘act-consequence connection’ in Proverbs. The connection is predictable but not inviolable, may come about through a number of agencies, and has strong motivational potential. Ch. 6 looks at proverbs about the king. These do not necessitate an actual court context, for the ‘king’ figure may encapsulate wider principles, and function as a teaching tool. Even when he appears to be glorified, his role may be subverted, requiring students to exercise their minds. In ch. 7, I consider the way wisdom is acquired in the ‘didactic proverb’ genre, and suggest a principle for gaining it: students must ‘trust and scrutinise’. They are thereby empowered in their quest for wisdom, whilst also becoming aware of their limitations. Throughout Part 2, I find ‘openness’ to be an important facilitator for didactic and proverbial goals. Prov 10:1-22:16 presents its readers with a panoply of fascinating texts. By exploring them as ‘open’, ‘didactic’, and ‘proverbial’, this thesis offers a fruitful reading strategy; new insights into functions and meanings; and some fresh perspectives on old debates.